UN Secretary-General Travels to Africa Seeking Help for Darfur

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is leaving Tuesday for Africa, where he will co-chair a conference designed to raise support for the African Union mission in Sudan's western Darfur region.

The secretary-general spoke about his trip with reporters Monday at U.N. headquarters in New York. He said he will co-chair the donor's meeting Thursday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the A.U. has its headquarters.

Mr. Annan said there are plans to expand the AU peacekeeping force in Darfur from the current 2,000 troops to 8,000. But he said the AU is about $350 million short for the project.

The secretary-general will also be traveling to the Darfur region himself and to Sudan's southern town of Rumbek, where he will examine the peace process.

Some information for this report provided by AP.